Power drive suitable for airplanes and helicopters



v. K. FRY

May Z0, 1958 POWER DRIVE SUITABLE FOR AI-RPLANES AD HELICOPTERS Filed Oct. 20. 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. KSQN @y Arrows/y May 20, 1958 `v. K. FRY

POWER DRIVE SUITABLE FOR AIRPLANES AND HELICOPTERS Filed oct. 2o, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. l/E/Qw 1:22)/

Afro/PNJ),

May 20, 1958 v. K. FRY 2,835,332

POWER DRIVE SUITABLE RoR AIRPLANRS AND RELmoPTERs Filed oct. 2o. 1955 4 sheets-sheet 5 INVENTOR. Vae/v K /59/ ,4 TTM/VEY May 20, 1958 v, K, FRY 2,835,332

- POWER DRU/E SUITABLE FOR AIRPLANES AND HELICOPTERS Filed oct. 2o, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent O POWER DRIVE SUITABLE FOR AIRPLANES AND HELICOPTERS Vern K. Fry, Logansport, Ind.

Application October 20, 1955, Serial No. 541,694

Claims. (Cl. 17th-135.28)

This invention relates to power drives suitable for air planes and helicopters, and is herein illustrated in some detail as embodied in a jet driven double propeller airplane in which jets mounted on part of the fixed frame of the airplane 'in effect drive turbine wheels or rings carried on the tips of the propeller blades.

Many attempts have been made to utilize jets as di` rect drives for airplane. propellers, such as by causing the jets or jet to issue from a trailing or down stream edge of the propeller blade or tangentially from the tips of the propeller blades, or by guiding through the propeller blades exhaust from the reciprocating internal combustion engine. Such propeller-carried jets carry the inherent advantage that they exert almost no torque on the airplane, but one objection to propeller tip jets has arisen from the fact that the reaction of the issuing jet was wholly relied on to drive the propeller. Thus a suitable relationship between jet and propeller points to the solving of the problem of torque, which is a serious factor in airplanes and a more serious factor in helicopters.

One method of avoiding torque has been to interpose gearing between the propeller hub and the source of power, but that involved other difficulties.

A jet carried on a propeller tip involves complicated arrangements for the feeding of fuel to the propellers on the one hand, and the issuing jet usually issues at an inefficient angle.

According to the present invention, the foregoing and other difficulties are avoided, especially in a double propeller drive, by providing turbine blade rings carried on the propeller tips, and driving these rings by jets, which, although ixed on the airplane structure, impinge in opposite directions, and, therefore, eliminate all torque resulting from the jet. The large rings embodying the turbine blades when carried on the tips of the propeller blades are exposed to large volumes of air and, for that reason may be made of a metal much less resistant to damage by heat than is ordinarily necessary, and thus enable a more economical structure to function eflciently as a turbine engine.

Moreover, the fixed jets involve almost no diculties with fuel feeding, and deliver their issuing jet directly to the rotating propeller with the result that no power can be lost. y

It is found possible to carry the turbine rings by standards mounted on the feathering axis of the propeller blade and including journals, so that the rings do not interfere with the feathering of the propellers, and the rings may be steadied, the one against the other by suit able ball bearings holding the rings close to each other so that their peripheral faces may be at at various points.

The rotating rings carried on the propeller blades tend to send out the air radially as the propellers rotate. In the form shown, this tendency is utilized to provide compressed air for the jets. To effect this, there is shown a series of over-lapping extensions of the rings between the body `of the ring and an air scoop or port which faces 2,835,332 Patented May 20, 1958 lCC to the front as the airplanetravels. This port opens into slanting openings in the adjacent ring extension so that as that extension travels with the ring it tends to push the air radially outward, and as it leaves that ring, it encounters an extension of the second ring with ports opening so as to slant in the opposite direction, and thus tend to further urge on the air radially as the ring rotates, and so on.

It is possible to incorporate devices to eliminate distortion of the rotating turbine ring by centrifugal force.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l shows the propellers and rings in diagrammatic perspective.

Fig. 2 shows a section of the same on a much largerl scale taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a fragmentary ysection on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4`is a fragmentary perspective on a much larger scale of parts seen at the top of Fig. 3 together with some adjacent parts.

Fig. 5 shows diagrammatically an anti-centrifugal distortion device.

In the form shown, the airplane has `two propellers rotating in opposite directions, and each propeller includes blades, 10 or 11, each propeller carrying a tipsupported ring 12 or 13, forming part of a turbine member. These rings rotate with the rotating propellers so that they rotate adjacentxed rings 14, 15, carried by a support 16, mounted on a xed part `of the airplane structure 17, or motor frame.

In the form shown, the' rings 14, 15, extend toward each other and are united at 18` on the center line between the propellers and carry impelling jets 19, 20 so` that the jets irnpinge in opposite directions on turbine blades 21 carried by the ring 12 and turbine blades 22 carried by the ring 13. In the form shown, the jets 19,` 20 are located toward the summit of peripheral arch members 23, 24, conforming fairly closely to the blades 21, 22, so that issuing jets of gases from the jets 19, 20 drive the rings 12, 13 in opposite directions.

In the form shown, the ring 12 is carried on a bracket 25 on the feathering center 26' of the rear propeller 11 and is held spaced from the ring 14 by ball bearings 27 near the bracket 25 and ball bearings 28 near the center line between the two propellers 10 and 11. `In the same way, the ring 13 is spaced from `the ring 15 by ball bearings 29 near the bracket 30 which is mounted onthe feathering center 13 of propeller blade 10, and is spaced also by the ball bearings 32 near the center` line between the two propellers 10, 11.

The jets 19, 20 are shown as getting their fuel from a fuel tank 34 from which the fuel is drawn bya fuel pump 3S, and carried by a `fuel line 36 along the xed bracket 16, and carried by distributing pipes 37 and38 to the combustion chambers 39 and 40 of the jets `19, 2

In the normal operation of the plane, the fuel pump 35 l is shown as driven by the rotating propellers. In the form shaft 41, which in turn is driven `by the rotation of the shaft 42 or 43 of the propeller blades 10, I1 respectively.` To effect this, there is diagrammatically `shown on the shaft 43 an enlarged `hub 44 havinginternally cut teeth and driving a spur gear 4S on anextension of the shaft 41. The shaft 41 is also shown as carrying a spur gear 46 meshing with a gear 47 on an extension of the shaft 42 so that the two propellers having the blades 10 and 11 rotate at identical speeds in `opposite directions and either drives the-fuel pump 35. i j, ,t 1

The shaft 41 is also showntas belted `by a pulley..48`

and belt 49 to pulley S0 of a magneto 51, and this mag neto as diagrammatically shown supplies ignition current to ignition plugs 52 and 53 of chambers 19 and 20.

A turbine starting device is diagrammatically shown as a starting motor 6? with other parts omitted, and the wires 61 and 62 from the magneto 51 provide, by connections shown only diagi'ainmatically, the current for the ignition plugs 52 and 53.

The necessary air -for the chambers 19, is shown as provided by an air scoop -device 63 shown as between the propeller blades 1d, 11, and facing forward and formed from a bottom extension of the ring 12. The extension 64 is shown as carrying rings 65, 66, and 67, perforated with openings that register with a bottoni opening 68 in a ring 69 shown as the downward extension 70 of the ring 13. The extension 70 is shown as carrying rings 71 and 72 whichy overlap into the rings 65, 66, and 67 and are provided with openings that successively register as they turn with the opening 69, so as to pass air gathered by the air scoop 63to an upwardly extending pipe 73 which branches at 74 so that one branch 75 feeds the chamber 2t) and the other branch 76 feeds the chamber 19. As shown in Figure 3, the openings in the ringsl 65, 66, and 67, and 69, 71, and 72 are cut on a slant so that they tend to throw radially upward, at the position shown, air gathered by the scoop 63 and thus provide the necessary air for maintaining the combustion of the fuel.

The rotating rings 12, 13 are provided with flat areas 77, '78 overlapping part of their periphery so as to lie close against fiat areas 75.a and 76a on the structure which forms part of the lixed arch members 23 and 24.

In order to enable these faced surfaces at 77, 78 to confine the air as it goes from the scoop 63 to the delivery pipe 73, they areshown as spaced by the ball bearings 28 and 32, as well as by the outer ball bearings 27 and 29. To enable the parts to be assembled readily, the races of the ball bearings are shown as split at 80, so that the inner rings 12, 13 may be assembled inside the outer ring 14, 15, which carries the outer races. For the same reason, thepropeller tip mountings brackets are shown as detachably pivoted on upstanding pivots 81 on the feathering axes of the blades 10, 11. It should be pointed out that the openings 73 of the air feed deliver into a ring opening 82 which extends all the way around the periphery of the fixed ring as if it were a blister, and thus carries the air, wherever itis to be delivered, through the opening 73 to the feed distribution pipe 75 or '76 as the case may be. There is provided for feeding air. into the blister 82 an opening 82a between the surfaces 77, 78.

To enable the jets 19 and 20 to function to the best advantage, there are provided exhaust ports 83 (diagrammatically shown in Figs. 3 and 4) in the arch members 23 and 24, which enable the combustion gases to escape after the jet has delivered the issuing gases against the vanes of their respective turbine rings. The jets 19, Z0 themselves preferably include diffusers 84 diagrammatically shown by dotted lines in the constricted jets.

In Fig. l, there is diagrammatically shown the two sets of propeller blades, rotating in opposite directions, and as appears in Fig. 2, the front propeller blades carry around with them the closed rounded nose or spinner 85 of the hood which encloses them, and the blades 11 carry around with them the adjacent covering or spinner 86 of the structure which forms a smooth curve with the nose member 85, and lies close to but clear of the structure 17 of the airplane body. Fig. 1 also shows two supports 16 at opposite ends of a diameter of the ring 14, 15.

There is preferably provided between the starting motor 60 and the shaft 41 an automatic starting jaw clutch not shown and often known as a bendix.

Preferably, the openings in the rotating extension rings 65, 66, and 67, are evenly distributed around the periphery of the rings slanting in such a way as to feed air outwardly, and the openings in the rings 71 and 72 are also evenly distributed so that they tend to carry on air delivered from the next ring radially inward and slope in opposite directions to the openings in the radially inward ring. The rings all revolve at the same angular speed in opposite directions as described above so that the maximum elliciency of delivered air through those openings may be attained and preserved by the equal revolving of the propellers in opposite directions, thus assuring the delivery of air as desired without trapping it against a surface devoid of openings.

If it is desired to make the turbine ring so light that it may be deformed by centrifugal force, it may be advantageous to include devices to prevent distortion by the centrifugai force. Fig. 5 diagrammatically shows a device suitable for that purpose. ln this form of device the brackets 25 are shown as carrying slidable weights S8, 89, Si@ and 9i which are split and may be held together by oc-lts as shown at weight 38 of which the nearer part has been removed.

When the speed of the ring 12 exceeds certain predetermined amount the weights 8S, S9, 9i] and 91 slide out ward on their respective brackets 25 and thus draw on wires 93 attached to them. The Wires 93 are shown as passing through closed loops 94 projecting inward from the ring 12 so that when the weights 38, 89, 90 and 91 slide outward they pull inwardly on the loops 94 and thus pull the intervening part of the ring 12 inwardly against any centrifugal force which tends to distort it.

To thus shorten the free bight of the wires 93 instead of being attached directly to the weights 8f3, 89, 90 and 91 they may pass around pins 9S bending slightly upward on the brackets 25 and thus exert a direct pull on the wire 93.

To prevent any one weight 8S, S9, 9) and 91 from pulling the wire to the exclusion of the other parts of the wire, the wire 93 may carry buttons on opposite sides on eachloop 94 centrally located between two brackets 88, 89, and 91, thus limiting the distance the wire is pulled.

To further steady the device against distortion by centrifugal force the feathering center 13 may carry a screwed on nut 97, if that turns out to be necessary in any given construction.

Having thus described certain embodiments of the invention in somedetail, what is claimed is:

l. The combination with a first set of propeller blades of a first ring carried on the tips of said blades, a secondr set of propeller blades turning in the opposite direction, a second ring carried on the tips of said second set of blades, a lixed ring surrounding both said rst and second rings, air gathering devices between said blades, an air conduit on said fixed ring running peripherally around it receiving air from the gathering devices, a turbine nozzle for cach set of blades, a combustion chamber for each nozzle an air connection from said conduit to each chamber to supply air thereto, and a fuel supply for each chamber.

2. The combination with a lirst set of propeller blades of a Iirst ring carried on the tips of said blades, a second set of propeller blades turning in the` opposite direction, a second ring carried on the tips of said second set of blades, a iixed ring surrounding both said ii'rst and second rings, air gathering devices between said blades, an air conduit on said fixed ring ruiming peripherally around it receiving air from the gathering devices, a turbine nozzle for each set of blades, a combustion chamber for each nozzle, an air connection from said conduit to each chamber to supply air thereto, a single opening in said conduit for each pair of blades forming part of said air connection, and a fuel supply for each chamber.

3. The combination with a lirst set of propeller blades of a rst ring including turbine blades carried on the blade tips, a second set of propeller blades turning in the opposite direction and including turbine blades carried on the blade tips, a fixed ring peripherally surrounding said rst and second rings, a peripheral conduit on said fixed ring forming an air conduit, overlapping extensions of iirst and second rings including slanting openings supplying combustion air to said air conduit as the rings revolve, a turbine nozzle for each set of propeller blades, and an air connection to each nozzle from the conduit supplying combustion 4air thereto.

4. The combination with a first set of propeller blades of a first ring including turbine blades carried on the blade tips, a second set of propeller blades turning in the opposite direction and including turbine blades carried on the blade tips, a fixed ring peripherally surrounding said first and second rings, a peripheral conduit on said fixed ring forming an air conduit, overlapping extensions of said first and second rings toward each other and including an air scoop and minor extensions having slanting openings adapted to propel the combustion air to said conduit as the rings revolve, a turbine nozzle for each set of propeller blades, and an air connection to each nozzle from the conduit supplying combustion air thereto.

5. The combination with a first set of propeller blades of a first ring including turbine blades carried on the blade tips, a second set of propeller blades turning in the opposite direction and including turbine blades carried on the blade tips, a fixed ring peripherally surrounding said first and second rings, a conduit on said fixed ring forming an air conduit, overlapping extensions of first and second rings including slanting openings supplying combustion air to said air conduit as the rings revolve, said first and second rings forming parts of said conduit, ball b earings for said first and second rings holding them close to the fixed ring so as to nearly close any air passage between the rings, a turbine nozzle for each set of propeller blades, and an air connection to each nozzle from the conduit supplying combustion air thereto.

6. The combination with a fixed ring including two sets of turbine vane passages, two sets of feathering propeller blades, one for each vane passage, each blade set carrying a set of said turbine vanes, a pivoted bracket on each propeller blade tip on which the blade carries its turbine vanes, a turbine support for each set of vanes, a pair of ball bearings for each set of turbine supports holding them spaced from, but close to, the fixed ring, to forman air passage between the fixed ring and the turbine elements, means for carrying air into said passages, nozzles for driving the turbine vanes, and air connections from said passage delivering combustion air to the nozzles.

7. The combination with a fixed ring including two sets of turbine vane passages, two sets of feathering propeller blades, one for each vane passage, each blade set carrying a ring and a set of said turbine vanes, a pivoted bracket on each propeller blade tip on which the blade carries its turbine vanes, a turbine support for each set of vanes, a pair of ball bearings for each set of turbine supports holding them spaced from, but close to, the fixed ring to form an air passage between the fixed ring and the turbine vanes, overlapping extensions of the rings including air passages in said overlapping extensions forcing air to the fixed ring air passage, nozzles for driving the turbine vanes, and air connections from said passage delivering combustion air to the nozzles.

8. The combination with a fixed ring, turbine rings lying side by side and rotating within the fixed ring, varies on said turbine rings slanting in one direction on one ring and in the other direction on the other, bearings holding the turbine rings close to, but rotatively within the fixed ring, overlapping extensions of the turbine rings including perforations running nearly axially of the rings but slanting so that each ring as it rotates tends to force air outwardly, and an air scoop device carried by one of said rotating rings and gathering air to feed to said perforations.

9. The combination with a lixed ring, of two turbine rings lying side by side and rotating within the fixed ring, vanes on said turbine rings slanting in one direction on one ring and in the other direction on the other, bearings holding the turbine rings close to, but rotatively within the fixed ring to form an air passage, overlapping extensions of the turbine rings including perforations running nearly radially of the ring structure but slanting so that each ring as it rotates tends to force air outwardly, an air scoop device carried by one of said rotating rings and gathering air to feed to said perforations, two sets of feathering propeller blades turning in opposite directions, journal bearing tips on said propeller blades, a mounting carried by each journal bearing tip carrying its turbine ring with the rotating propeller blade, nozzles for driving the turbine vanes, a combustion chamber for each nozzle, air connections from said air passage delivering air to each combustion chamber.

10. The combination with two turbines rotating in o pposite directions each including a ring carrying Vane, a fixed ring surrounding said Vane carrying rings, nozzles on the fixed ring for driving said rotating rings by said blades, extensions of the rotating rings overlapping each other and perforated to convey air radially, a combustion chamber for each nozzle, means gearing the rotating rings to rotate in opposite directions at the same speed and bring the ring openings opposite each other to drive said air through the openings to the combustion chambers, and a fuel supply for each chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS imtuumllldlllllltludlmlillllud 

